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U.S. moves to block suit against Iran-focused group

Warning of potential damage to U.S. national security, the Justice Department on Friday asked a federal judge to halt a civil lawsuit against one of the most prominent private organizations fighting Iran's nuclear program.

The invocation of the state secrets privilege in Greek shipping magnate Victor Restis's lawsuit against United Against Nuclear Iran is unusual because the U.S. Government is not a party to the litigation, but is insisting that allowing the suit between the private parties to proceed any further will jeopardize American secrets that must be kept under wraps.

"The Government has concluded that information that would be at risk of disclosure in discovery and further proceedings is properly subject to the state secrets privilege and should be excluded from this case. Further, because information subject to the state secrets privilege is inherently at risk of disclosure in further proceedings, the Government also seeks dismissal of this lawsuit," government lawyers wrote in legal memorandum supporting the motion (posted here). "The United States cannot publicly specify the particular information that is privileged, other than to state that the information is directly implicated by and at risk of disclosure in further litigation of plaintiffs’ claims."

In their public filings, the government lawyers do not explain the nature of the sensitive information that could be released. However, one filing refers to a "concerned federal agency" with an interest in the matter. The Justice Department submitted two classified declarations and a memorandum of law, which were not made public or shared with lawyers for Restis, who claims UANI libeled him by publicly accusing him of illegal business dealings with Iran.

The Justice Department's move is sure to increase public speculation about the U.S. Government's ties to UANI, which holds itself out as a non-governmental organization seeking to increase pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

In general, a private group would not be expected to have classified information. However, UANI's leadership has long been populated by former senior officials of the U.S. Government who would have been privy to such information at one time. The group is currently headed by former Bush State Department official Mark Wallace and former Obama arms control adviser Gary Samore.

At one point, the group demanded the U.S. Government investigate Restis's dealings, so that may have resulted in some exchanges of information with the U.S. Government on the issue. It's also possible the information UANI published about Restis originated with a foreign government and was made public in an effort to press the U.S. to respond. Another possibility is that UANI stumbled across some kind of U.S. intelligence operation.

UANI's lawyer, Lee Wolosky, issued a statement Friday decrying the lawsuit, but not commenting directy on the new government filing.

"In order to deflect attention from his numerous criminal and civil problems, Victor Restis last year filed a meritless complaint in the United States against UANI. His complaint falsely stated that he did no business in Iran. Mr. Restis then declined to come to the United States to testify under oath about his dealings in Iran. We expect Mr. Restis’ lawsuit to be dismissed," Wolosky said.

The statement goes on to deny what it says are various claims Restis has made, including about UANI's finances. "UANI has never sought or received funds from any foreign individual," Wolosky said.

A lawyer for Restis, Abbe Lowell, said the government's move fuels questions about the group.

"UANI has made false, unsupported and libelous allegations against Mr. Restis, but rather than try to defend what it did or allow the world to know the truth, UANI is now hiding behind the government's skirt," Lowell said in a statement. "With this latest step, it is clear that UANI and its leaders know they have no defense and so are hoping to get the government to make this case go away. The bigger question now turns to why the government is doing UANI's bidding and exactly what relationship UANI has with the U.S. government, other countries and its web of undisclosed financial supporters."

While the motion filed Friday was submitted under the names of DOJ Civil Division chief Stuart Delery and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, under DOJ policy, assertion of the state secrets privilege almost always requires the approval of Attorney General Eric Holder.

After President Barack Obama took office, the Justice Department pledged to rein in the use of the state secrets privilege, which many Democrats accused President George W. Bush of overusing. After a review of the policy, Holder pledged to be sparing in its use and to explore ways to limit a caseover secrecy concerns rather than dismissing it outright. However, the government's filings in the Restis case say doing that would be impossible.

"While the United States takes no position on the ultimate merits of plaintiffs’ claims, its invocation of the state secrets privilege would preclude the parties from adducing evidence without which there could be no full and fair litigation of this case," the Justice Department wrote.

UPDATE (Saturday, 12:27 P.M.): This post has been updated with Wolosky's statement.

UPDATE 2 (Saturday, 4:45 P.M.): This post has been updated with a new statement from Lowell.